It Started with a Tweet

Minnesota local musician, filmmaker, producer and composer Chris Strouth had been dealing with kidney disease for years before his kidneys finally failed in 2009. Starting dialysis and not knowing what to do, he turned to Twitter and wrote “Sh*t, I need a kidney.” Within a few days, an impressive 19 people contacted him with offers to get tested. One of them was Scott Pakudatis.

Scott and Chris were casual acquaintances, both part of the Minnesota music and arts scene. But after seeing the Tweet, Scott researched the procedure, talked to someone who had donated a kidney, then decided to get tested to see if he was a match for Chris.

He was and in December of 2009, Scott successfully donated his kidney to Chris.

“Part of my culture growing up was to be involved and help people”, Pakudatis said.

Chris & Scott’s story and the way that they connected about organ donation through social media received both local and national media coverage. Who would have thought that something as simple as a 17-character Tweet could have such a profound impact on two lives?!